— Saturday night's highlight happened about midway through the second quarter of the Nuggets' next-to-last home game, against the Utah Jazz.

That was about the time the Atlanta Hawks were putting the finishing touches on an upset victory over Miami, thereby clinching the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That eliminated the New York Knicks, officially giving the Nuggets two opportunities to maybe, just maybe, sneak into the top three in the NBA draft lottery.

If they're lucky enough.

But luck hasn't been a hallmark of the team this season. Unless, of course, you're talking buzzard's luck.

The Nuggets did win in thrilling fashion, 101-94 at the Pepsi Center, with forward Kenneth Faried turning in a monster effort of 24 points and 21 rebounds.

But with two games remaining and the season ending Wednesday, more eyes are turning toward lottery odds each day. At the moment, the Knicks and Nuggets own the 11th- and 12th-worst records in the league, which carry 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent chances of earning the top pick.

But we're saying there's a chance.

On the court, the Nuggets had to grind this game out. And after a lackluster a first half, they picked things up in the second by getting out into transition more often, being crisper in their half-court execution — and then simply finding a shooting touch that had eluded them for much of the game.

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The Nuggets outscored Utah 67-50 in the final 24 minutes, Faried doing much of the damage in the third with 13 points and six rebounds, and guard Evan Fournier getting into the action in the fourth with 12 of his 23 points in the final frame.

Guard Randy Foye, who has quietly played fantastic basketball over the last couple of weeks, finished with 26 points and six assists, while hitting three 3-pointers. He has made 186 of them this season and finds himself in sole possession of second for Denver's all-time 3-pointers made in a season.

And it all equaled the Nuggets first three-game winning streak since winning five in a row from Jan. 3-11.

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